Kinderhook’s Primeritus Acquires M. Davis Company

Kinderhook Industries‘ portfolio company Primeritus Financial Services has acquired M. Davis Company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Nashville, TN, Primeritus is a provider of services to the US auto finance industry. Based in El Dorado Hills, CA, M. Davis Co. is a national provider of repossession management, skip tracing, transport and vehicle remarketing services.

Based in Nashville, TN, Primeritus is a leading provider of repossession management, skip tracing, remarketing and title services to the auto finance industry in the U.S. Kinderhook partnered with Cam Hitchcock, Chuck Tapp and Phil Hanks in February 2012 to purchase the assets of ASR and has since rebranded the company Primeritus. With over 45 years of collective industry experience and strong client relationships in the automotive finance industry, management plans to pursue an aggressive growth strategy both organically and through acquisition.

Cam Hitchcock, Executive Chairman of Primeritus, was previously a Partner at Elysian Advisors and a senior executive officer at ADESA who held the title of President and CEO of ADESA’s Dealer Service Group. Chuck Tapp was most recently Vice President at Openlane, Inc., which was acquired by ADESA Inc. in August 2011 and is the Chief Executive Officer of Primeritus. Phil Hanks, a long-tenured executive at Manheim that most recently served as Vice President of Renovo Services, LLC upon Renovo’s acquisition of Manheim’s Remarketing Solutions division, is the President of Primeritus.

Based in El Dorado Hills, CA, M. Davis Co. is a full service, national provider of repossession management, skip tracing, transport and vehicle remarketing services through its USA Recovery and Skip Masters divisions. Matt Davis, CEO of the M. Davis Co., will join the Primeritus management team in an operational and executive leadership position as Chief Operating Officer.

“We are excited to welcome Matt and his team into the Primeritus family,” remarked Chuck Tapp, CEO of Primeritus. “Matt Davis has built a first-rate team and USA Recovery and Skip Masters have earned an outstanding reputation for client service and integrity in the automotive finance community. The combined organizations will further enhance the service offerings and options for both our automotive and non-automotive finance clients.”

“My team and I are extremely excited to partner with Primeritus and Kinderhook to build the preeminent national indirect repossession management and skip tracing company in the U.S,” commented Matt Davis. “Based on a foundation of exceptional customer service and integrity, the combination of the two businesses will allow for accelerated growth and execution of our collective strategy.”

“The acquisition of M. Davis brings together two exceptionally talented management teams and the combined platform will provide superior customer service in the repossession industry,” said Paul Cifelli, Managing Director of Kinderhook Industries. “This acquisition is a pivotal point in Primeritus’ history and we are delighted to provide the capital to support management’s growth initiatives. Cam, Chuck and their team have a long history of success in the automotive finance industry. Kinderhook is thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with them to build a leading repossession management company through the Primeritus platform.”

Cam Hitchcock, Chairman of Primeritus, remarked, “The acquisition of M. Davis Co. is the next step in Primeritus’ strategy to build the leading national recovery services and skip tracing platform for our finance clients. Further, we continue to actively seek additional acquisitions to broaden our platform and service offering.”

About Kinderhook Industries

Founded in 2003, Kinderhook Industries is a private equity firm with $770 million of committed capital and an investment philosophy based on combining senior management and operating experience in a variety of industries with the financial and investment know-how of private equity professionals. Kinderhook primarily makes control investments in companies with transaction values of $25-$100 million in which the firm can achieve significant financial, operational and growth improvements. The firm targets orphaned non-core subsidiaries of corporate parents, existing small capitalization public companies lacking institutional support and management-led recapitalizations of entrepreneur-owned companies. By providing access to capital, strategic advice and an extensive network of relationships, Kinderhook Industries has a history of successfully building privately held firms in partnership with management. For more information please visit: www.kinderhook.com

About Primeritus Financial Services

Primeritus is a national provider of repossession management, remarketing, title services and skip tracing services to the auto finance industry in the U.S. Primeritus serves as a value-added partner for clients that seek to outsource the non-core business functions of the collateral recovery process as well as supplement their existing recovery efforts.

About The M. Davis Company

The M. Davis Company is a full service, national provider of repossession management, skip tracing, transport and vehicle remarketing services. The company operates primarily through its USA Recovery, Skip Masters, USA Transport and USA Remarketing business units and serves a broad spectrum of leading U.S. automotive lending clients.